OMERS Private Equity Sells Buyout Fund Portfolio to AXA

OMERS Private Equity, the private equity arm of the OMERS worldwide group of companies is selling a portfolio of 11 private equity fund investments and the related unfunded commitments to AXA Private Equity. The portfolio of buyout funds represents approximately $850 million in original commitments, in North American and global funds.

PRESS RELEASE

OMERS Private Equity Inc., the private equity arm of the OMERS Worldwide group of companies, and AXA Private Equity today announced that they have signed a definitive agreement in connection with the sale by OMERS to AXA Private Equity of a portfolio of 11 private equity fund investments, and the related unfunded commitments. The portfolio of entirely buyout funds, in aggregate, represents a total size of approximately US$850 million in original commitments, in predominantly North American and Global funds.
Paul Renaud, Chief Executive Officer, OMERS Private Equity, said: “This transaction is consistent with OMERS strategic shift towards direct investing.”
Following on from AXA Private Equity’s US$1.7 billion acquisition of private equity assets from Citigroup in June 2011, and its US$740 million acquisition of private equity assets from Barclays in June 2011, this latest transaction continues the firm’s secondary funds strategy to offer liquidity to large institutions looking to monetize their private equity investments.
Benoit Verbrugghe, Senior Managing Director and Head of North America for AXA Private Equity said: “This is a large and significant transaction where we have excellent visibility on the assets, especially given that we are an existing investor in many of the funds.”
“Having an international team with global reach gives us excellent perspective on pricing and quality, allowing us to be opportunistic on behalf of our investors and reinforce our strategy of buying excellent quality assets,” continued Mr. Verbrugghe. “It enables us to deliver a global solution to the seller in an efficient and discreet manner.”
About OMERS Private Equity Inc.
Operating under the OMERS Worldwide brand, OMERS Private Equity today manages the private equity activities of OMERS and has over $6.5 billion of investments under management. The group’s investment strategy includes the active ownership of businesses in North America and Europe. OMERS Private Equity is headquartered in Toronto, Canada, with offices in New York and London. For further information visit: www.omerspe.com.
About OMERS
OMERS is one of Canada’s largest pension funds with over $55 billion in net assets. It provides first-class pension administration and innovative products and services to over 420,000 members. Approximately one in every 20 employees working in the province of Ontario is an OMERS member. Through the OMERS Worldwide brand, our team of investment professionals uses a direct drive, active management investment strategy to invest in public and private market assets, including publicly-traded equities, fixed-income, infrastructure, private equity and real estate. For more information, please visit www.omers.com, or www.omersworldwide.com.
About AXA Private Equity
AXA Private Equity is a world leader in private equity, with assets of $28 billion managed or advised in Europe, North America and Asia. The company offers its investors a wide choice of funds covering the full range of asset classes: Funds of Funds (primary, early secondary and secondary), Direct Funds including Infrastructure, Small and Mid Market Enterprise Capital, Innovation & Growth, Co-Investment and Private Debt.
With offices in Paris, Frankfurt, New York, Singapore, Milan, London, Zurich, Vienna and Luxembourg AXA Private Equity is committed to supporting companies in their long term growth by providing access to its international network. AXA Private Equity sets great store by the regularity and quality of its reporting on the performance of its funds and the performance of the companies in its portfolio, as a service to its investors.